Just as some of the contenders in the Western Conference are heating up, the Denver Nuggets are hitting one of their coldest spells in years. Michael Malone and company have lost four games in a row with the regular season winding down and are now in danger of being stuck in the play-in tournament for the first time.

On Sunday night, the Nuggets suffered another difficult home loss in another close game. The Indiana Pacers knocked off Malone's squad 125-120 in a high-scoring affair in Denver, dropping the Nuggets right into that play-in mix.

The Nuggets have now lost four games in a row, their longest skid of the season. After the game, head coach Michael Malone didn't hold back on what he thinks is wrong with the team as the playoffs get closer and closer.

Related Denver Nuggets NewsArticle continues below
Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic (15) dribbles down the court against the Oklahoma City Thunder in the second quarter during game seven of the second round for the 2025 NBA Playoffs at Paycom Center
Nikola Jokic joins historic Larry Bird company despite MVP snub
Thunder's Shai Gilgeous-Alexander with MVP award next to Nikola Jokic and Giannis Antetokounmpo
Thunder’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander ends Nikola Jokic’s search for fourth MVP award

“The defense, I've talked about it a ton,” Malone said. “That's been the most disappointing part of this year is just the huge drop off. We didn't go from eight to 12, we didn't go from eight to 15, we went from eight to — I don't even know what it is right now. It's a severe drop-off. You can't just rely on your offense to outscore teams. We have to get this bad taste out of our mouth because I hate losing. It's driving me crazy.”

The Nuggets have still been elite on offense in recent months even as they have struggled to pick up wins because they can't get stops, Nikola Jokic is having arguably his best season ever and is in the MVP race once again, but it won't matter if Denver can't find a way to get some stops in the postseason.

The Nuggets are also now dealing with a hamstring injury to Jamal Murray. Murray was originally listed as day-to-day, but it sounds like the injury may be more serious than the team is letting on. If Murray is sidelined, the burden on the shoulders of Jokic becomes even heavier and it will be even tougher for the Nuggets to get back into championship contention.